Presenter: Catherine A. Durivage, Library Program Director of the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library.
The Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library has recently moved to NE Minneapolis, so please discard any flyers or handouts with the old Faribault address.
The National Library for the Blind and and Print Disabled (NLS) started in 1933. MBTBL is one of 55 regional libraries. It is administered by State Library Services. It is paid for by Minnesota state funds and Federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant money from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Materials are available in audio that are not commercially available in that format. NLS and each regional library create their own materials. Listening is limited to eligible patrons who apply for copyright reasons.
Who is eligible? It's broader than you might think:
- The visually impaired
- Anyone with a reading disability-dyslexia, etc.
- Anyone not able to focus or hold a book due to disability
- Institutions such as hospitals, assisted living, and public libraries can have an account created for them.
How do patrons apply?
- Fill out the application.
- Get certification by an authority-list of authorities is online - not necessarily a doctor anymore-could be a nurse, therapist, social worker, or public librarian.
- Get a parent or guardian's signature if under 18.
- Fax, mail or email application.
What services does MBTBL offer?
- Books and magazines - Braille and large print- delivered by US mail
- Reference and readers advisory
- A growing collection of foreign language materials-new international treaty allows them to collect materials from other countries
- Music scores and music instructional materials
- Machines that read currency (vibrates for privacy)
- Audio books on cartridge with special player provided-sent in the mail-can put up to 24 titles on a single cartridge now- don't have to wait for someone to return the cartridge anymore-patrons can keep them as long as they want, but can only have so many at a time
- Speaker and headphones for player
- List of new books in audio, braille and online each month
- Downloadable audiobooks similar to Overdrive/Libby
- Radio Talking Book- online stream and archives- mobile apps- can used on Alexa devices- newspaper reading offered- newspaper customized by location
- Inter-library loan from other regional NLS regional libraries
- Young adult and childrens' materials
- Coding of many materials for sex, violence, strong language- non-coded materials are listed as "unrated"
- NFB newsline- newspapers and magazines- carries Minnesota, national and international newspapers & magazines- phone and online- iOS app- working on Android app
- Responds to patron requests by mail, email and fax
The Braille and Audio Reading Download online service (BARD) is NLS's equivalent to Overdrive/Libby. Patrons can download directly from computer via BARD or use a mobile app. They can download to their own flash drive or to a talking book cartridge. Audio files are compressed to download faster. BARD Express is a Windows-only download which is more user-friendly than the web or app version and makes it easier to download files. Patrons can both download and listen within the BARD Express software. The BARD mobile app is available for Android, iOS, Amazon Fire. It is compatible with iOS and Android assistive technology features.
What's next:
- Using synthetic speech for breaking news and other time-sensitive materials (not to replace all materials read by a person)
- Wifi access for audio player- early 2025- download from BARD to device- could push titles to patrons in the future
- Listening to audio directly on Alexa-enabled devices
- New outreach materials with current address
What can your library do?
- Apply to an institution account and get sample players for patrons to try out- can't have access to entire collection for copyright reasons.
- Distribute flyers and handouts
- Report any DVDs with described audio tracks so that MBTBL can add them to their catalog
